Landon Ferraro scored two goals within 20 seconds for the Grand Rapids Griffins on Saturday, April 13, but it wasn't enough for his team to clinch a playoff spot in a 4-3 loss to Peoria at Van Andel Arena.Mlive.com file photo

GRAND RAPIDS – The Grand Rapids Griffins had three chances this week to wrap up a postseason berth on their home ice.

They came up empty each time.

Grand Rapids missed an opportunity to punch its ticket to the Calder Cup playoffs for the first time since 2009 after Saturday night’s stunning 4-3 overtime loss against the Peoria Rivermen before 10,155 at Van Andel Arena.

The Griffins led 3-2 with less than three minutes remaining in regulation, but Peoria tied it with a power play goal with 2:29 left and won it 20 seconds into overtime when a shot by Jani Hakanpaa from the inside the blue line hopped over the left pad of goalie Petr Mrazek.

“It was a bad bounce that we got, but we have to recover from it and get back on track Monday,” said Griffins’ left wing Francis Pare, who scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period. “We’re trying to clinch a playoff spot, but at the same time we’re trying to go one at a time. Right now we feel like we’re taking a step back, but at the same time we’re doing a lot of good things.”

A loss by Chicago would have put Grand Rapids in the playoffs as well, but the Wolves rallied for a 2-1 shootout win over Charlotte.

Grand Rapids (40-26-3-4), which lost back-to-back games against Chicago and Milwaukee this week, suffered its seventh loss in a row against the Rivermen. The Griffins haven’t beaten Peoria since Nov. 29, and haven’t won a home game in a month.

“It’s certainly disappointing, but we have to continue to get better,” Grand Rapids coach Jeff Blashill said. “I thought parts of our penalty kill were good, but then we give up one at the end. I didn’t think we played great, and I don’t think our attention to detail is where it needs to be. It has to be better, and we’ll correct that this week and head into a big game on Friday.”

The game-winner by Peoria came on the first shot of overtime.

“The puck was bouncing all over the place all game, and it was a really sloppy game because of that,” Blashill said. “They kind of threw it in there and it took a hop on in.”

After a scoreless first period, Peoria took a 1-0 lead less than a minute into the second period, but the Griffins answered. Landon Ferraro scored a pair of goals in a 20-second span in the second period to put Grand Rapids up 2-1.

“It’s not exactly the result we wanted, but we I thought we played better tonight,” Ferraro said. “We started better, but we had some lapses that hurt us.”

A delay of game penalty late put Peoria on the power play that ultimately knotted the score.

“Our penalty kill has to make some stops, and we’ve struggled a little bit with that,” Ferraro said. “I thought we were strong it through the first three quarters of the year, but the last couples games we’ve had a little trouble.”

The Griffins, who have three games remaining in the regular season, still could earn a playoff spot despite the loss.

Notes:
The Griffins are off until Friday when they face Peoria again in their final home game. They close the regular season at Lake Erie and Chicago …Grand Rapids was 0-2 on the power play and is 3-of-18 in its last five games.